Despite unemployment, some trade jobs are hard to fill

When there's a job opening, you'd think hundreds or thousands would be trying to beat out others for that steady pay, but that's not always so, especially when it comes to trade jobs.

We found out why some frustrated business owners are saying, "Take this job!"

R. Buck Heating and Air Conditioning has jobs to fill, but when Randy Buck placed an ad in the paper, he was shocked by the result.

"Only one applicant came back," said Buck.

Unemployment in Pueblo is over ten percent.

"The last three years we've been pretty amazed that we continue to hear about it, and we struggle to find people," said Buck. "Now we do drug screen and background check, and you have to have a clean driving record. That limits down the pool, but I'm still amazed only one applicant out of the whole city."

For trade jobs like this there's a lot of training involved, which may be part of the problem.

"You do have to put time into it," said Buck. "You've got to read the manuals. You have to do the extra training, and it's always changing."

At the Workforce Center in Pueblo, people go in and out everyday looking for jobs, but many of them want something more immediate.

"Training seems off a long way for them or not real possible because they're needing to meet their bills," said John Martinez, Workforce Center Director.

There are people who already know how to get the job done.

"There are people that have those skills, and so they're a little more in demand so they can be a little more picky," said Martinez.

They say training is worth it in the long run.

"Obviously the more skills you have, it's going to improve your chances for employability," said Martinez.

"I've seen a guy that had no construction background whatsoever, and in six months he was able to kind of start to run his own crew where he could work independently and start making a pretty good wage," said Buck.

Buck hopes to see more applicants who look at his business as a career, not just a short-term job.

Buck does offer on-the-job paid training, and the Workforce Center has different training options for other careers that you can look into.

You can visit the Workforce Center at 212 W. 3rd Street in Pueblo.

If you think you'd like to apply with R. Buck Heating and Air Conditioning, take your DMV and resume to 1721 N. Erie Ave. Monday through Friday 10am to noon only.